Will The Times Cut Its Ombudsman Loose?

The two-year term of the current public editor, Byron (Barney) Calame [left], will conclude in May. There may, or may not, be another. “Over the next couple of months, as Barney’s term enters the home stretch, I’ll be taking soundings from the staff, talking it over with the masthead, and consulting with Arthur,” meaning publisher Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr., wrote Bill Keller, The Times’ executive editor, in an e-mail to The Observer.

What does Barney think of this?

“I have been critical of the newsroom … I’ve also praised the newsroom, and I think that Bill Keller has been  quite obviously  unhappy with some of the things I’ve written.”

Dan Okrent, a.k.a “Public Editor #1,” said he’d be “disappointed” to see the slot eliminated.

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